History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. II, Part 47

Author: Schalck, Adolf W.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: State Historical Association
Number of Pages: 700

USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 47

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Reinhold, Eli Spayd, a scion of one of the old and honored fam- ilies of the Keystone state, has attained to distinction in educational and business affairs and has long been known as one of the repre- sentative citizens of Schuylkill county. He is a man of high scholar- ship and his influence has proven potent for good along the various directions in which he has exerted the same. Mr. Reinhold was born in Reinholdsville, Lancaster county, Pa., Jan. 14, 1847, and is a son of Jacob B. and Catherine (Spayd) Reinhold, both likewise natives of Lancaster county, where the former was born Oct. 10. 1810, and the latter in Nov., 1816. The original American progenitors of the Rein- hold family came hither from Germany in 1728, being of the noted family of German philosophers of that name who were the early ex- ponents of the Kantian philosophy. One of the two brothers who came to America in the year noted settled in Lancaster county, Pa., and his son Christoff served in the war of the Revolution, in two dif- ferent regiments of the Pennsylvania Line, as is clearly and authen- tically indicated in the work entitled "Pennsylvania in the Revolution."

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Six of the family were valiant soldiers of the Union in the Civil war and all save one of this number were commissioned officers. In the Seventeenth Pennsylvania cavalry were Major Reuben Reinhold, Lieu- tenant U'riah R. Reinhokl, and Captain M. R. Reinhokl, the last named of whom was killed at the head of his troopers in the Shenandoah valley, under General Sheridan. Eh S. Reinhold, to whom this sketch is dedicated, secured his early educational discipline in private schools and classical academies, and supplemented the same by courses of study in the Pennsylvania State normal school and in the Eastman business college, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He devoted seven years to effective school work and gained a high reputation in pedagogic circles. He taught three terms in Lancaster county, was for one year an instructor in a private school in the city of Philadelphia, and thereafter became principal of the high school at Mahanoy City, Schuylkill county, where his work was most highly appreciated. Here also he was chosen super- intendent of the public schools of the borough of Mahanoy City, re- taining this incumbency two years. In 1871 Mr. Reinhold entered the banking business, to which he continued to devote his attention for thirty-five years, with distinctive success. In 1889 he organized the Union National bank of Mahanoy City, of which he served as cashier until 1906, when he resigned the office. He made this one of the most successful and substantial of the banking institutions of the state. In the midst of the exactions and responsibilities of an essentially busy life Mr. Reinhold gave his leisure to literature and science. He gathered a most valuable collection of mineral specimens, which he recently presented to Bucknell university, in memory of his deceased and only son, who was graduated in that institution, and this gift con- stitutes what is known as "The Milton C. Reinhold Collection." Mr. Reinhold purposes to devote his remaining years to congenial pursuits. In 1907, he was tendered the office of registrar and librarian of the Crozer theological seminary, at Upland, Pa., and has accepted the same.

He has broadened his mental ken by extensive and appreciative travel, having crossed the Atlantic cight times and having visited Asia, Africa, and all European countries except Austria. He is familiar with the German and French languages and has friends and. correspondents in a number of European countries. In politics Mr. Reinhold is a Republican with independent views, and he has been active in the work of the party. He has been a delegate to the state Republican convention on a number of occasions, was for several years a member of the borough council, of which he was president one year : for a quarter of a century he held the office of clerk of the council. He has the distinction of being the second oldest living past-master of Mahanoy City Lodge, No. 357. Free and Accepted Masons, and was its treasurer until his removal from the town. Mr. Reinhold has been a member of the Baptist church since Feb. 4. 1866, and has been a vigorous and zealous factor in various departments of church work. For two years he was statistical secretary of the Pennsylvania state Sunday-school association. April 10, 1866, was solemnized the mar-

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riage of Mr. Reinhold to Miss Louise J. Compton, of Philadelphia, a daughter of Daniel and Clarissa (Owen) Compton, of Newport, N. J., and the only child of this union was Milton Compton Reinhold, who was born March 8, 1867, and whose death occurred March 1, 1894. He was a graduate of the classical department of Bucknell university and became a successful member of the bar of Schuylkill county, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession at the time of his death. He served several years as a commissioned officer of the 8th regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, with which he did duty during the Homestead strike campaign. He was a young man of sterling attributes and distinctive ability, honored by all who knew him, and his early death cut short a career full of promise.

Rentschler, Henry D., M. D., a leading physician of Ringtown, was born in Berks county, on May 5, 1841, a son of Jacob and Sarah (Diehl) Rentschler. He acquired his preliminary training in the pub- lic schools of his native county and in the Washington Hall academy, at Trappe, Montgomery county. After a period of study in the office of Dr. D. Schoener he matriculated, in 1861, in the medical depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania and in 1864 was graduated at that institution with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He im- mediately began the practice of his profession at Ringtown and since that time has made that borough his home. He is a general prac- titioner and has a practice which extends into the surrounding boroughs. In the fall of 1869 the doctor was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Rumbel of Ringtown, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Seltzer) Rumbel. She is the only daughter of a family of three, her brothers being William H. and Trenton W. To Dr. and Mrs. Rent- schler have been born eight children. Ada Letta, the eldest, com- pleted a course in the Keystone state normal school at Kutztown and subsequently studied music in a seminary at Hagerstown. She mar- ried Dr. George R. Shenk, a practicing physician of Reading, and has three children-Katherine F., Florence E. and Frederic. Maurice married Miss Sadie Rumbel, daughter of Francis Rumbel, of Ring- town. He did not finish at the University of Pennsylvania, but is now in business at Ringtown. Walter received his early educational advantages in the Bloomsburg normal academy and in 1892 inatricu- lated in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1896 he was given his degree and has since that time been practicing with his father. His wife, by whom he has three children-George Hughes, Henry D. and Emily-was Miss Edna Hughes, daughter of George Hughes, of Clearfield, Pa. Sadie M. graduated at the Blooms- burg state normal and became a popular teacher in Ringtown. She died Feb. 7, 1907. Harry J. is a machinist employed in the hosiery mills at Ringtown. Robert F. is a graduate of the Keystone state normal school. He taught for a few terms and then, after a course in a commercial college at Reading, he accepted the position he now holds, with the Brooks Foundry & Steel Company, of Birdsboro. Elizabethi M. graduated in the musical department of the Bloomsburg normal school and is now engaged in musical instruction in Ring-

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town. Guy H. also is a graduate of the Bloomsburg institution and is a teacher by profession. The family are all members of the Lutheran church. The doctor himself is a stauch Democrat in his political views and as the candidate of that party he was at one time elected to the office of coroner. For twenty-eight successive years he has been a member of the school board. His business interests are not con- fined to his professional labors, as he is vice-president of the First National bank of Ringtown and is a director in the Merchants' National bank at Shenandoah. Dr. Rentschler is well known in fraternal circles, having attained to the degree of Knight Templar in the Masonic order, besides which he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, in the Ringtown Lodge, No. 287. He is also prominent in the county and state medical associations and his name in connection with any enterprise is a synonym for energetic action and honesty.

Rentz. Rev. William F., A. M., a minister of the gospel of the Lutheran faith and the much respected pastor of the English Evangelical Lutheran church of Pottsville, is a native of Lycoming county. Pa .. and was born on Sept. 22, 1851. He is a son of l'eter S. and Lydia (Buck) Rentz, both natives of Lycoming county, where the father was a farmer until his death, which occurred in 1873, at the age of sixty- three years. The mother lived to be seventy-five years oldl. The family consisted of six sons and two daughters, of whom the daughters and four of the sons besides the subject of this sketch survive. They are Harry, John, Ermin. Pierce. Mary and Emma, all married and all living in Lycoming county except Ermin, who is a physician in Forest City, Ore .: Pierce, who is in Emporium. Pa., where with another party he owns a foundry and machine shop, and Emma ( Mrs. Hess), who lives in Tioga. Philadelphia, Pa. Rev. Mr. Rentz. after receiving a preliminary education in the public schools, entered Dickinson sem- inary. at Williamsport. where he was graduated in 1872. Four years later he was graduated in Pennsylvania college, at Gettysburg. He then matriculated in the theological seminary of the same institution, and when he had completed the full course of four years he was given the degree of Master of Arts, in 1880. In the fall of the same year he received ordination as a minister of the gospel in the general synod of the Lutheran church. His ministerial career was begun as pastor of the church at New Chester. Adams county, where he remained for some two and a half years, leaving there in the fall of 1883 to take the Lionville pastorate, in Chester county. In the spring of 1888 he became home missionary of the Lutheran church at Atchison, Kan., and he rendered distinguished service in that capacity for nine years. At the end of that period he removed to Port Arthur. Tex .. where for a year and a half he was engaged in ministerial labors. establish- ing a church and overseeing the erection of an edifice for the congrega- tion. Rev. Mr. Rentz's Pottsville charge dates from the fall of 1898, when. in answer to a unanimous call from the congregation. he as- sumed the duties of pastor. The Pottsville Evangelical Lutheran church was established in 1851. although prior to that time there had been a movement on foot to divide the German Lutheran congrega-

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tion, which alternated with the German Reformed congregation in holding services in a block house, where on week days a school was kept. The separation was not, however, fully consummated until 1851, since which year the English church has had a steady and suc- cessful career. The congregation today comprises some seven hundred members, one of the largest Protestant churches, and the enrollment in the Sunday school in all departments amounts to nine hundred chil- dren, undoubtedly the largest of its kind in Pottsville. Since its organization the church has been served by twelve pastors, some of whom remained but a short time while others served periods of ten years or more. Rev. Mr. Rentz is now beginning his ninth year and is a man born to lead in good works. His missionary spirit meets with the full approval of his people and his advanced ideas upon the questions which are absorbing the public interests easily place him in the ranks of the brainiest and most intellectual citizens. His treatment of the temperance question is fair, conservative and thorough, and wins for both him and the cause many strong friends. He carries his views on this question into his political career and is a strong exponent of the tenents of the Prohibition party. Sept. 30, 1880, was solemnized Mr. Rentz's marriage to Miss Sue C. Snavely, a native of Lebanon, and a daughter of George S. Snavely, who for many years was a coal dealer. Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Rentz. George, the eldest, is now a student at Princeton university, N. J. He is a graduate of the Pottsville high school and Pennsylvania college, and for three years was engaged in pedagogic work, the last two of them as principal of the Mifflinburg schools. Miss M. Helen is a graduate of the Pottsville high school and the Maryland college for women at Lutherville, Md. In June, 1906, she completed the course in kindergarten instruction in Temple college, Philadelphia, where she is now teaching. The youngest child, Marie Elizabeth, is a student in the Pottsville high school in the class of 1907. Mr. Rentz has been president of the Sabbath school association of Schuylkill county since 1902, and at the present time is a director of the Children's Home at Pottsville and of the Tressler's Orphans' home at Loysville, Pa., the latter institution conducted under the auspices of the Lutheran church. Fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Work- men and the Modern Woodmen of America.

Ressler, George W., M. D., a leading physician and surgeon of Ashland, was born in Hegins township, this county, Sept. 22, 1863, a son of George and Sally (Geist) Ressler. Both parents were born in Northumberland county, where both the grandfathers, Samuel Ress- ler and Peter Geist, were engaged in agricultural pursuits. Samuel Ressler married a Miss Kehler and the wife of Peter Geist was formerly Miss Gratzer. The parents' marriage was celebrated in Northumberland county about 1845 and soon thereafter they removed to Hegins township, this county. The father was a tanner by voca- tion and for sixteen years conducted a tannery in Hegins township. When he retired from that trade he engaged in farming and continued at it for the remainder of his life. He died in 1889, leaving a family

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY

of ten children. Dr. Joel Gi. and Emanuel, twins, were the first born. the former of whom is deceased; and the others are John; Mary, wife of Jacob Fisher : Eliza, wife of William King ; Kate, wife of Rev. Oliver Schaeffer ; Sarah, Mrs. John F. Long : James ; George W .; and Anna, now Mrs. Ambrose Mauris. The subject of this sketch received his early education in the common schools of Begins township and finished his preparatory work by a course in the Lockhaven normal school. He began the study of medicine in 1881 in the office of his brother. Dr. Joel G. Ressler. at Valley View, and in 1884, after com- pleting the course of study afforded by the Jefferson medical college, of Philadelphia, he was graduated at that institution, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began his professional practice in his native township and was most successfully engaged in it there for a period of eight years. In 1802 he located in Ashland, where he has since been practicing with marked success. May 15. 1884. Dr. Ressler was imited in marriage to Miss Catherine Tobias, a daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Troutman) Tobias, of Hegins township. To this union has been born one child, a daughter. Esther J. The family are all members of the Reformed faith and worship at the Zion church of that denomination in Ashland. In his political views the doctor is an exponent of the principles of Democracy, but has never held nor aspired to office. Professionally he is identified with the Schuylkill county, the state and the American medical associations.

Ressler, John, a well known farmer in legins township, was born there Sept. 26, 1848. His parents, George and Sarah (Glest) Ressler, were both born in Northumberland county, Pa. In 1844 they came to Schuylkill county, settling first at Valley View, where the father operated a tannery for about thirteen years, but in 1857 he bought a farm of 10 acres in Hegins township. At that time it was but slightly improved and had only log buildings upon it, but by hard work he improved the place and brought it up to the repu- tation of being one of the best farms in the neighborhood. George Ressler was a Democrat of the old school, a member of the Re- formed church, and was a popular and influential citizen in his dav. He died in 1880 and his wife in 1805. They had the following chil- dren : Emanuel and John, living in Hegins town-hip: Mary, who married Jacob Fisher, of Lancaster. Pa. : Eliza, wife of William B. King, of Dauphin county : Kate, who married O. F. Shafer, of Fores- ton, Ill. : Sarah, now the widow of J. Long, and a resident of Hegins ; James, who lives at DuBois, Clearfield county. Pa. : George W .. a physician at Ashland : and Annie, who married A. W. Maurer, of Hegins township. John Ressler received a common school educa- tion, and has followed agricultural pursuits all his life. He now car- ries on a general farming business and is one of the well to do citi- zens in the community where he lives. Like his father before him he is a Democrat in his political affiliations and a member of the Re- formed church. He has held the office of tax collector and auditor. and was school director for many years. He has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Catherine Artz. and to this union were born

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seven children, viz .: A. C., who married Cora Geist and is now farm- ing on the old homestead; Kate, now the wife of J. D. Dinger, of Ashland ; Jennie, the wife of G. D. Kuntz, of Hegins, Pa .; Nora, wife of Harper Williard, of Philadelphia; George, at home; Mary, who lives in Philadelphia, and Sarah, at home. The mother of these children died in Jan., 1898, and the father married Mrs. J. Hunt- singer, of Hubley township.

kich, Henry J., a well known merchant and prominent business man of Pottsville, is a native of the borough in which he now lives, and was born on May 9, 1843. He is the second born of the seven children of the late Job Rich, of Pottsville. His father was one of the pioneers in the coal business and was a resident of Pottsville for fifty-eight years. He was a native of South Wales, born Sept. 10, 1812. With his father's family, Job Rich located in Pottsville in 1836, and a year later the father, whose name was Isaac Rich, and liis son Job began coal operations at Wadesville, this county. In 1842 they began the development of the York Farm coal property, this being operated by Job Rich until 1881, when he sold out his in- terests, and he devoted his time thereafter to the care and manage- ment of his varied real estate interests. Isaac Rich, the founder of this family in Schuylkill county, was a practical miner, well versed in the development of the coal industry. He died in Pottsville in 1848, at the age of seventy-six years. By his marriage with Char- lotte Tillott he had a family of five children, who lived to years of maturity, namely: George, Job, Isaac, Janc and Jonas. George, in company with Charles M. Miller, doing business under the firm title of Miller & Rich, was an extensive coal operator in the county. Job Rich, the father of the subject of this article, was a man of lim- ited opportunities in early life, but he took advantage of such oppor- tunities as were afforded during his subsequent career as a very active and successful business man. To use his own language he was "edu- cated by the circumstances of life." He was a man of exemplary life and character, was a consistent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church from 1836 until his death, and held all the official positions in the government of the church. He died Feb. 13, 1894. His wife was Dorothy Affleck, a native of Scotland, born May 6, 1813. They were married in Pottsville by Rev. William Cooper, in May, 1841, and became the parents of seven children, the eldest of whom is Isaac B .; Henry J., of this sketch, was the second born; Mary F. is the widow of George W. Simmons ; Isabella A. is the wife of Thomas A. Jones; John W. is a farmer ; Charlotte A. is unmar- ried and living at the old homestead; and J. Newton. All are resi- dents of Pottsville. Isaac B. was a soldier during the Civil war, and participated in a number of engagements, with the 129th Pennsyl- vania, in the Army of the Potomac. Henry J. Rich was educated in the public schools of Pottsville and began his business life in mer- cantile pursuits. He was employed as a salesman in the hardware business of J. C. Bright & Co., subsequently engaging in business on his own account. He is now interested as principal owner and man-

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ager in three fine groceries in Pottsville. He is a public spirited citt- zen, interested in the growth and prosperity of his native town, and contributes freely of his means and time to that end. He is an active member of the recently organized civil society and business men's association m Pottsville, which, acting in conjunction with the board of trade, has in view the establishment of industrial enterprises, and the promotion of entertainments, etc. Mr. Rich was married on Oct. 17, 186 ;. to Miss Harriet F., daughter of George and Elizabeth ( Spencer ) Heaton, natives of Yorkshire, England, but later residents of Pottsville, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Rich have two sons. Norman H., of Pottsville, and Howard R., of Reading, Pa. Mr. Rich is a Repub- lican in his political affiliations, though imbibing the independent po- litical spirit so prevalent in Pennsylvania during the past two or three years. He has never been an office-seeker, but has accepted the office of school director, as a duty devolving upon all good citizens. Hle served as a very active member of the building committee during the construction of the magnificent Garfield school building. decidedly the handsomest structure of the kind in Schuylkill county. Other school houses were erected, enlarged, or extensively repaired during Mr. Rich's term of six years, from 1880. and the school park, on Center street, was transformed from a cemetery to a beautiful spot for the comfort and entertainment of the living. Mr. Rich is very justly proud of his record as a member of the Pottsville school board. a thankless, unrequited office, except for the consciousness of duty well performed. The family are Episcopalians in religious views. Mr. Rich is not identified with any secret societies, but is an inter- ested member of the Schuylkill county historical society.

Rickert, Col. Thomas H., deceased, who is well remembered by the people of Pottsville as a progressive and public spirited man. was a descendant of two of the oldest families of Schuylkill county. His grandfather, Richard Rickert, was a native of Bucks county. Pa .. but came in his youth to Schuylkill, locating near Orwigsburg, where he was engaged in farming, mining and various other occupations until his death. in 1857. at the age of eighty-five years. He was a man of intelligence and stability of character and although the greater part of his education was acquired in the stern school of experience, he was considered a well informed man on most of the topics of the day. In politics he was an old-line Whig. taking an active interest in the welfare of his party. Religiously he was one of the founders of the Evangelical association, and as long as he lived was zealous and aggressive in the conduct of its affairs. Hc married a Miss Gilbert, and to the union were born three sons and three daughters. One of these sons was George Rickert, who was born at Orwigsburg in Nov .. 1810. At the age of fourteen years he engaged in mining on his own account. at Minersville, hauling his coal by team to Mount Carbon, where it was shipped by the Phila- delphia & Schuylkill canal to Philadelphia. Subsequently he became a successful coal operator at Minersville, New Philadelphia and other points. continuing in this line of activity until 1872, when he retired,

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and lived in Pottsville until 1891. He then removed to Philadelphia, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was a Republican in his political affiliations, was an active member of the Evangelical church, in which he held many important positions, and was noted for his benevolence and public spirit. He married Miss Amelia Hammer, a member of what at that time was one of the most promi- nent families in the county, and she died in July, 1890, at the age of seventy-eight years. They became the parents of five children, all of whom grew to maturity. Elizabeth is now Mrs. Linder, of Or- wigsburg; John R. lives in Reading, Pa .; Emma is a Mrs. Bohan- non, of Philadelphia; George L. is in Virginia; and Thomas H. is the subject of this sketch. Col. Thomas H. Rickert was born near Schuylkill Haven, North Manheim township, Schuylkill county, Apr. 8, 1834. He was educated in the public schools and started in life in the coal business, first with his father and later on his own account. To this business he added, 1881, that of railroad contractor, in which he was eminently successful. He assisted in the construction of the Buffalo extension of the Lehigh Valley, the Cumberland Valley, the Schuylkill Valley, the Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia & Reading railroads. At the commencement of the Civil war he enlisted and was made quartermaster of the 7th Pennsylvania cavalry. Later he served as quartermaster of the different divisions and corps of the Army of the Cumberland until the close of the contest, being mustered out of service at the close of the war. With his command he partici- pated in practically all the engagements of the Army of the Cum- berland, among which were Stone's River, Chickamauga, Chatta- nooga, Missionary Ridge, and the battles of the Atlanta campaign, after which he returned to Tennessee with Gen. Thomas and was in the fights at Franklin and Nashville. Upon his return home he re- sumed his business as a coal operator and became a director in the Safe Deposit bank and the Edison Illuminating Company. In per- sonal appearance Colonel Rickert was a man of commanding pres- ence, handsome in both form and feature, and was endowed with an

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History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. II, Part 47

Author: Schalck, Adolf W. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: State Historical Association Number of Pages: 700

Author: Schalck, Adolf W.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: State Historical Association
Number of Pages: 700